PAULINE FROMMER’S ITALY

First Edition Edited by Keith Bain

PAULINE FROMMERS ITALY Venice

…The best way to get a sense of Venetian life is to stay in an apartment where you can prepare your own meals and occasionally share an elevator or stairway with “locals” rather than with other foreign guests. Start out by contacting Venetian Apartments. This well-established operation has around 85 very different apartments on its books. Operated by a London office, it provides a relatively hassle-free method of finding a place that’s right for you. The price? You’re looking at paying anything upwards of €995 per week for a fairly lovely one-bedroom first-floor place that sleeps three and has a little garden, while an attractive midrange flat with a view and a terrace will cost around €1,495. If you’re into designer chic, there are superbly modernized spaces, while plenty of old, romantic homes grace their large inventory. There are even apartments on the Grand Canal (one pied-a-terre is right next to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, €1,595 per week for 3 people), and if you ever wanted to boast about returning to your very own palazzo, they have more dizzying options to satisfy your decadent side. The really good news is that, if you think it sounds like they’re charging a lot, bear in mind that the weekly rate could break down to as little as €142 a night per apartment (often for more than 2 people)—not bad in a city this pricey. Besides the level of cleanliness and the obvious pride that has gone into the styling of the apartments, what has impressed me over the years is the discerning eye the operators have for offering places that feel comfortable and homey. Even the simpler flats are well furnished, and usually reflect some stylistic preference of the owner; most have air-conditioning in summer and heating in winter. You could even land one with a view of St. Mark’s, and as I’ve mentioned, there are a number of very prestigious (expensive) homes to choose from too…